T-17 Mission
T-17 studies the thermal and statistical mechanics properties of materials, equation of state, microscopic, mesoscopic and continuum-level mechanical behavior of materials, shock physics, hydrodynamic analysis, energetic materials, grain growth phenomena, advanced techniques using quantitative image analysis for applications in material science, and surveillance.
We also are involved in theoretical modeling of explosives including mechanical behavior, ignition and detonation characteristics, and predicting how these are affected by composition and other factors. This includes expertise in hydrodynamics and shock interactions, reactive flow, equations of state, molecular modeling, and micromechanics and material behavior. Current projects include studies of initiation and burn processes in damaged and intact explosive materials, damaged material behavior, advanced energetic equations of state, ab initio molecular modeling, parallel processor computer algorithms, and proliferation issues.
These efforts support the nuclear and conventional defense communities, civilian research communities, and commercial applications. We interact strongly with the Laboratory experimental explosives program and maintain the SESAME Equation-of-State and Materials Properties Library.
T-17 Research
The members of T-17 conduct research in a variety of areas:
advanced techniques
using quantitative image analysis for applications in material science
and surveillance
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electronic structure of actinides
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equation of state, hydrodynamic analysis, energetic materials, shock physics
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thermal and statistical mechanics properties and microscopic, mesoscopic and continuum-level mechanical behavior of materials
Equation of State: This team manages the
SESAME equation of state (EOS)
library, interacts with internal and external
SESAME users, maintains and updates the codes used to generate equations of
state, and performs research on a wide variety of areas related to EOS.
Research areas include electronic structure theory, models of nuclear and
electronic contributions to an EOS, material properties such as bulk and shear moduli, and shock physics needed to generate equations of state. The
team also provides a focal point for other theoretical and experimental
groups, both internal and external to the Laboratory, working on EOS
research.
( Burakovsky, Chisolm,
Crockett,
Johnson, Niklasson,
Wallace, Wills
) (more)
Liquid Dynamics: We have developed a theory of the dynamics of
monatomic liquids in which the atoms
in a liquid oscillate in many-body harmonic valleys, occasionally moving
from one valley to another in a motion we call a "transit."
This theory accounts
well for the equilibrium thermodynamic behavior of such liquids, and we have
also used it to develop a theory of the velocity autocorrelation
function, which determines the liquid's self-diffusion coefficient. We are
currently studying the dynamic structure
factor, which can be measured by neutron scattering experiments, and other
correlation functions which determine the remaining transport coefficients
of the liquid.
( Chisolm,
Lorenzi-Venneri, Wallace )
Mechanics of Materials: The Mechanics of Materials Group in T-1 are
theoretical physicists engaged in doing research on the thermal and
mechanical properties of
metals, ceramics, polymers and composites. A primary mission of the group is
to develop physics-based mesoscopic and continuum-level theories. The team
is concerned with dynamic deformations ranging from quasi-static to shock
loading. Material properties being investigated include elastic, plastic,
viscoelastic, ductile and brittle fracture, melting, phase transitions, and
aging. The materials team works closely with inter-divisional
participants including experimental materials scientists and simulations groups.
(
Burakovsky, Clements, Gammel, Mas )
T-17 History
Equation of State, Mechanics of Materials, Explosives, and Organic Materials